An Apology
by Katsumi Sinclair
Summary: Rin says something she doesn't mean to Lord Sesshomaru. She finds a way to apologize to him because of it.


Sesshomaru, the great dog demon, Lord of the Western Lands, who spent his days traveling with a short toad youkai, a two-headed dragon youkai, and a young human child, was in quite the foul mood on his way back to their campsite. He had a run in with his younger half-brother, Inuyasha, that pathetic half-demon. He could have avoided it, but for the past day he had been feeling slightly under the weather. He didn't know what it was, perhaps a cold, but his senses had been dulled by it and he was currently nursing a painful headache. _Pathetic. _He growled to himself. _Contracting an illness that of a human. How utterly poignant._

It is not a secret that the Lord Sesshomaru held a great disliking for the human race and half breed, especially that annoying Inuyasha. He got away with a few good hits to the ignorant fool before leaving, not in the mood to continue the fight any longer. _He's still weak as ever._

You may be curious now as to why Sesshomaru has in his company a small human child, however, and even he was still baffled at that. Honestly, he should have left the girl back in her village after having brought her back to life with his Tenseiga. She could be more trouble than she should have been worth. At least, the Sesshomaru long ago would have thought. Actually, the Sesshomaru of that time wouldn't have even saved the girl. He would have torn her to pieces the moment she happened across him in the forest that day.

But, this Sesshomaru was different now, though he loathed to admit it. He still despised humans, but Rin, she was different. She was tolerable and he simply could not let her go anymore. She was stuck with him from here on out. Not that she minded. She always liked to tell him that she would be with him forever. He refrained from ever correcting her, telling her that, no, she would not be with him forever. Perhaps, forever in the sense of her short human life, but in his? He would live hundreds of years longer once she passed and then some. Thoughts like that he didn't like to dwell on, though, so he began to think on different matters instead as he neared the campsite.

At this point, he should have been able to hear Jaken and Rin, but with his senses dulled as such, he wouldn't be able to hear them until he got a few yards closer. When he stepped out into the small clearing of which they were settled for the day, he was greeted with the sight of Rin and Jaken hitting each other. The little girl kept kicking the toad demon while Jaken pulled on her hair to get her off of him. They were screaming at each other and the shrill noises were making his head throb even more. "Both of you, silence."

His cold voice carried over to them. Immediately, the two of them let go of each other. Jaken scrambled to his feet. "My apologies, my Lord!" He exclaimed, his stomach churning in nervousness under Sesshomaru's penetrating golden stare. Boy, would he be in for it now. Sesshomaru never took kindly to him hitting Rin, even if she had been the one to start it.

This was why the toad youkai was surprised when his Lord did not reprimand him or even hit him. The man simply walked over and situated himself on the ground against a tree, closing his eyes. Rin huffed and crossed her arms over her chest. Jaken was being mean to her, couldn't her Lord see that? So, why wasn't he punishing the imp like usual?

The silence lasted but only a few minutes before Jaken did something to irritate Rin again. All day, she hadn't been feeling like herself and was easily agitated. Forgetting her Lord's order to remain silent, she talked back to the short demon, resulting in another argument which led to more hair pulling and abuse. Sesshomaru sighed silently to himself. He opened his eyes, the orbs darkened by his foul mood and displeasure. "I said to be silent!" He bellowed. His order was not quite a yell, but more him raising his voice an octave higher than he usually spoke.

Again, the two ceased their fighting. Rin was not happy with his order and she expressed so. "It's not fair! Jaken's been mean to me all day, Lord Sesshomaru! When you came back, you were supposed to punish him for it, but you didn't and now you're being mean to Rin too! You're both stupid, stupid, stupid meanies!"

No sooner did she speak those words did Sesshomaru hesitate to backhand her in the mouth, effectively startling the girl. He was mindful of his poison claws and he did not hit her hard enough to cause her any physical pain. Her eyes widened as she brought a hand up to her mouth. Slowly, her lip trembled and before he knew it tears were threatening to spill down her cheeks. "That was disrespectful, Rin." He spoke, his voice slightly colder than usual. "You are held above such insolence. Have I dared to speak ill will toward you?"

Rin shook her head sniffling. "N-no, never."

Sesshomaru tilted his head up a small fraction. "Then I hold the same expectations of you."

Rin fell to her knees and bowed to him. "Rin is so sorry, Lord Sesshomaru! She didn't mean those ugly words!"

In any other circumstance, Sesshomaru would have dropped it and continued with his rest, but for some reason those words had hit pretty hard. Not feeling well and now confused about the emotions he was feeling, Sesshomaru found it would be more suitable of him to go somewhere else for the time being where he could rest a while without being bothered. Without a seconds glance to either of the two, he stood and walked back the way he came.

Rin stared at his retreating back, feeling even more guilty now that he had simply walked away without a word. How could she say such a thing to him? The moment Sesshomaru was out of hearing range, Jaken began to yell at her. "Look what you've done now, you impudent child! How dare you speak to Lord Sesshomaru in that manner?! You should feel ashamed!" Jaken stormed off to the other side of the campsite.

Rin sat there for a few minutes before pulling herself up. She walked a little ways into the forest and began to walk around, making sure not to go too far so that she wouldn't get herself lost. Jaken was right, she was nothing but a disrespectful brat. Lord Sesshomaru had never said such things to her before, so she had no right to say them to him.

While Rin was walking around, she suddenly noticed something shiny on the ground. Crouching down to it, Rin realized that what she held in her fingers was a coin! It was a coin that villagers used to exchange for various goods. She had never had one of her own before. Rin wondered how much it could be worth.

Suddenly, an idea struck her and she jumped up, running back to the campsite. She could use this coin to buy something for her Lord as a token of her apology and gratitude. "Master Jaken!" She called out as she ran into the clearing.

Jaken glared at her. "What is it?" He spat.

"Look!" Rin exclaimed, holding out the coin to him. "Rin found a coin! Master Jaken, can we please go to that village we passed? Rin wants to buy something."

Jaken's immediate reaction would have been to refuse her request, but Sesshomaru didn't allow them to stop at villages often considering he couldn't stand the smell of that many humans, and some sake would be nice… Jaken gave in. "Fine, but you stay close to me! If I lose you, Lord Sesshomaru will have my head!"

"I won't stray, Master Jaken!" Rin grinned, excited to be able to purchase something for her Lord.

The village wasn't far and was fairly easy to locate. They ventured over to the shops and Rin looked around at all of the merchant's stands, hoping that she would find something suitable to give to Sesshomaru. She walked up to a jewelry merchant's stand and began to look at all of the pretty necklaces, bracelets, earrings, and such. This stuff looked expensive and would Lord Sesshomaru even like something like this?

Rin was about to leave to a different stand when one of the necklaces caught her eye. The pendant handing from the chain was of a moon, but it had an intricate design in it which must have required a hand of precision and skill. Behind the crescent moon was a light blue gem. When she saw it, she couldn't help but think of Lord Sesshomaru and the blue crescent marking on his forehead. This was the perfect gift, she had to buy this for him! "Excuse me, but how much is this?" Rin asked the old woman who worked behind the stand.

The woman smiled at her. "This is quite an expensive piece, young lady. For whom do you intend to give it to?" She asked.

Rin knew that mentioning Lord Sesshomaru's name to villagers wasn't something she should do, so she decided to bend the truth a little. "My father. I said something mean to him and I want to make up with him. I think that he would like this."

"Hm, how much money do you have?" The woman inquired.

Rin held out her coin. "Only this."

The woman accepted the coin. "This will be more than enough. I hope that your father likes his gift, but I'm certain that he will." She told Rin as she handed her the necklace.

Rin smiled at her. "Thank you so much!"

She went back to Jaken who had recently purchased a bottle of sake with his money. Rin didn't tell him about her gift and he did not ask what she had bought. They arrived back at the camp and Jaken popped open his sake to drink. Rin sat down near the unlit campfire and inspected her gift. She really hoped that Lord Sesshomaru would like it.

It wasn't until after Rin had eaten and was trying to go to sleep that Lord Sesshomaru returned. Jaken had passed out from the copious amount of alcohol long ago and Ah-Un had been sleeping for hours prior. Sesshomaru walked over to the same tree he had been sitting against earlier and resumed his spot. He did nothing else but stare silently up at the full moon.

Rin got up and walked over to his form. He did not regard her presence until she spoke to him. "Lord Sesshomaru?"

"You should be sleeping, Rin." He replied, turning his head to finally acknowledge her.

Rin nervously shuffled her feet. "I know, but Rin wanted to tell Lord Sesshomaru that she is very sorry about what she said earlier. Those words were mean and she did not mean to hurt your feelings." She reached into her kimono and retrieved the necklace. She handed it to him. "Rin wants you to have this because she is really sorry, but also grateful for Lord Sesshomaru taking care of her."

Sesshomaru made no move to accept the gift, choosing to stare at it. "Where did you acquire this?"

Rin looked down at the pendant. "I found a coin earlier. Master Jaken took me to the village. A nice old woman said this was more than enough to buy it. I thought of Lord Sesshomaru when I saw it because of this." She lightly touched the blue crescent shape on his forehead.

Sesshomaru ignored her touch. He highly doubted that coin was enough to cover this necklace. The jewelry was clearly expensive. Not as expensive as the jewelry found within his quarters, but for a regular villager to afford, it was too expensive. "You're not mad at me, are you, Lord Sesshomaru?"

"No." Sesshomaru finally accepted the necklace from her. "Now, go to bed, Rin."

"Can I sleep here?"

Sesshomaru wasn't going anywhere else for the night so he didn't see the harm in it. He was even feeling a bit better too. "If you wish to."

Surprisingly, instead of lying down beside him, like Sesshomaru expected her to, Rin climbed up into his lap and leaned back against his boa. She grabbed his one remaining arm and pulled it around her body. "Goodnight, Lord Sesshomaru."

Sesshomaru didn't reply and Rin soon fell asleep. He looked back at the necklace in his hand. That night, there wouldn't be a soul around to see the faint upturn of the Lord's lips as he placed the necklace over his head, tucking it safely under his haori.


End file.
